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Wednesday, August 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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THE MESSAGE

1 Chronicles 21:17

David prayed, "Please! I'm the one who sinned; I'm the one at fault. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me, not them, me and my family; don't take it out on them."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Araunah;   Miracles;   Nation;   Ornan;   Repentance;   Sheep;   Sin;   Unselfishness;   Vision;   Thompson Chain Reference - Innocence-Guilt;   Intercession;   Intercessory Prayer;   Prayer;   Remorse;   Wicked, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gad;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Census;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Araunah;   Sheep;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Araunah ;   Gad, the Prophet;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Temple;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Gad;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Intercession;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Lord my God, please let your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against your people.”
Hebrew Names Version
David said to God, Isn't it I who commanded the people to be numbered? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O LORD my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.
King James Version
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
English Standard Version
And David said to God, "Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people."
New Century Version
David said to God, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people."
New English Translation
David said to God, "Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! As for these sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family, but remove the plague from your people!"
Amplified Bible
David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
New American Standard Bible
And David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? LORD, my God, just let Your hand be against me and my father's household, and not against Your people as a plague."
World English Bible
David said to God, Isn't it I who commanded the people to be numbered? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Yahweh my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Dauid said vnto God, Is it not I that commanded to nomber the people? It is euen I that haue sinned and haue committed euil, but these sheepe what haue they done? O Lorde my God, I beseech thee, let thine hande be on me and on my fathers house, and not on thy people for their destruction.
Legacy Standard Bible
And David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to number the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done a great evil; but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
Berean Standard Bible
And David said to God, "Was it not I who gave the order to count the people? I, the shepherd, am the one who has sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand fall upon me and my father's house, but do not let this plague remain upon Your people."
Contemporary English Version
and David prayed, "It's my fault! I sinned by ordering the people to be counted. They have done nothing wrong—they are innocent sheep. Lord God, please punish me and my family. Don't let the disease wipe out your people."
Complete Jewish Bible
David said to God, "Wasn't it I who ordered the census of the people? Yes, I am the one who has sinned and done something very wicked. But these sheep, what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and my father's family, but not against your people, striking them with this plague!"
Darby Translation
And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned and done evil; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, Jehovah my God, be on me and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be smitten.
Easy-to-Read Version
David said to God, "I am the one who sinned. I gave the order for the people to be counted! I was wrong. The Israelites did not do anything wrong. Lord my God, punish me and my family, but stop the terrible sicknesses that are killing your people."
George Lamsa Translation
And David said to the LORD, Is it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? Even I it is who have sinned, and the folly which I have committed is great; but as for these innocent sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, O LORD my God, be against me and against my fathers house; but let the plague cease from the people.
Good News Translation
David prayed, "O God, I am the one who did wrong. I am the one who ordered the census. What have these poor people done? Lord , my God, punish me and my family, and spare your people."
Lexham English Bible
Then David said to God, "Was it not I who gave a command to count the people? Now I am he who has sinned, and I have certainly done wickedness, but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh, my God, please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father, but against your people, let there be no plague."
Literal Translation
And David said to God, Was it not I, I who said to number the people? Yea, it was I who sinned, and truly have done evil; and these, the flock, what have they done? O Jehovah, my God, I prayYou, let Your hand be on me and on my father'shouse, and not on Your people, to be plagued.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dauid sayde vnto God: Am not I he that caused the people to be nombred? I am he that hath synned and done euell: as for these shepe, what haue they done? LORDE my God, let thine hande be agaynst me and agaynst my fathers house, and not agaynst thy people to plage them.
American Standard Version
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O Jehovah my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.
Bible in Basic English
And David said to God, Was it not I who gave the order for the people to be numbered? It is I who have done the sin and the great wrong; but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand, O Lord God, be lifted up against me and against my family, but not against your people to send disease on them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid sayde vnto God: Is it not I that commaunded the people to be numbred? It is I that haue sinned and done euyll in deede: and what haue these sheepe done? Let thyne hande O Lorde my God be on me, and on my fathers house: but not on thy people, that they shoulde be punished.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David said unto God: 'Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let Thy hand, I pray Thee, O LORD my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against Thy people, that they should be plagued.'
King James Version (1611)
And Dauid said vnto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbred? euen I it is that haue sinned, and done euill indeed, but as for these sheepe, what haue they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my fathers house, but not on thy people, that they should bee plagued.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David said to God, Was it not I that gave orders to number the people? and I am the guilty one; I have greatly sinned: but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord God, let thy hand be upon me, and upon my father’s house, and not on thy people for destruction, O Lord!
English Revised Version
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be against me, and against my father’s house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Dauid seide to the Lord, Whether Y am not that comaundide that the puple schulde be noumbrid? Y it am that synnede, Y it am that dide yuel; what disseruid this floc? My Lord God, Y biseche, thin hond be turned `in to me, and `in to the hows of my fadir; but thi puple be not smytun.
Update Bible Version
And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? it is I that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O Yahweh my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.
Webster's Bible Translation
And David said to God, [Is it] not I [that] commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but [as for] these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be afflicted.
New King James Version
And David said to God, "Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
New Living Translation
And David said to God, "I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people."
New Life Bible
David said to God, "Was it not I who said that the people must be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done a very bad thing. But what have these sheep done? O Lord my God, I beg You, let Your hand be against me and my father's house. But do not let the trouble be upon Your people."
New Revised Standard
And David said to God, "Was it not I who gave the command to count the people? It is I who have sinned and done very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house; but do not let your people be plagued!"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David said unto God, Was it not, I, who gave word to number the people? Yea, I, it was who sinned and did the great wrong, what then had, these sheep, done? O Yahweh, my God, let thy hand, I beseech thee, be against me, and against the house of my father, but not against, thy people, that they should be plagued!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And David said to God: Am not I he that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned: it is I that have done the evil: but as for this flock, what hath it deserved? O Lord my God, let thy hand be turned, I beseech thee, upon me, and upon my father’s house: and let not thy people be destroyed.
Revised Standard Version
And David said to God, "Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father's house; but let not the plague be upon thy people."
Young's Literal Translation
And David saith unto God, `Did not I -- I say to number the people? Yea, I it [is] who have sinned, and done great evil: and these, the flock, what did they? O Jehovah, my God, let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father, and not on Thy people -- to be plagued.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."

Contextual Overview

8 Then David prayed, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin—I've been really stupid." 9 God answered by speaking to Gad, David's pastor: "Go and give David this message: ‘ God 's word: You have your choice of three punishments; choose one and I'll do the rest.'" 11Gad delivered the message to David: "Do you want three years of famine, three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of the sword of God —an epidemic unleashed on the country by an angel of God ? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the One who sent me?" 13 David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by God whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands." 14So God unleashed an epidemic in Israel—seventy thousand Israelites died. God then sent the angel to Jerusalem but when he saw the destruction about to begin, he compassionately changed his mind and ordered the death angel, "Enough's enough! Pull back!" The angel of God had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap. David prayed, "Please! I'm the one who sinned; I'm the one at fault. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me, not them, me and my family; don't take it out on them." The angel of God ordered Gad to tell David to go and build an altar to God on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David did what Gad told him in obedience to God 's command. Meanwhile Araunah had quit threshing the wheat and was watching the angel; his four sons took cover and hid. David came up to Araunah. When Araunah saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed deeply before David, honoring the king. David said to Araunah, "Give me the site of the threshing floor so I can build an altar to God . Charge me the market price; we're going to put an end to this disaster." "O Master, my king," said Araunah, "just take it; do whatever you want with it! Look, here's an ox for the burnt offering and threshing paddles for the fuel and wheat for the meal offering—it's all yours!" David replied to Araunah, "No. I'm buying it from you, and at the full market price. I'm not going to offer God sacrifices that are no sacrifice." So David bought the place from Araunah for six hundred shekels of gold. He built an altar to God there and sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings. He called out to God and God answered by striking the altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering with lightning. Then God told the angel to put his sword back into its scabbard. And that's the story of what happened when David saw that God answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite at the time he offered the sacrifice. At this time the Tabernacle that Moses had constructed in the desert, and with it the Altar of Burnt Offering, were set up at the worship center at Gibeon. But David, terrified by the angel's sword, wouldn't go there to 16David, Satan, and Araunah Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census of Israel. David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, "Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number." Joab resisted: "May God multiply his people by hundreds! Don't they all belong to my master the king? But why on earth would you do a thing like this—why risk getting Israel into trouble with God?" But David wouldn't take no for an answer, so Joab went off and did it—canvassed the country and then came back to Jerusalem and reported the results of the census: There were 1,100,000 fighting men; of that total, Judah accounted for 470,000. Joab, disgusted by the command—it, in fact, turned his stomach!—protested by leaving Levi and Benjamin out of the census-taking. And God, offended by the whole thing, punished Israel. Then David prayed, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin—I've been really stupid." God answered by speaking to Gad, David's pastor: "Go and give David this message: ‘ God 's word: You have your choice of three punishments; choose one and I'll do the rest.'" Gad delivered the message to David: "Do you want three years of famine, three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of the sword of God —an epidemic unleashed on the country by an angel of God ? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the One who sent me?" David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by God whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands." So God unleashed an epidemic in Israel—seventy thousand Israelites died. God then sent the angel to Jerusalem but when he saw the destruction about to begin, he compassionately changed his mind and ordered the death angel, "Enough's enough! Pull back!" The angel of God had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap. 17 David prayed, "Please! I'm the one who sinned; I'm the one at fault. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me, not them, me and my family; don't take it out on them."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Is it not I: 1 Chronicles 21:8, 2 Samuel 24:17, Psalms 51:4, Ezekiel 16:63

these sheep: 1 Kings 22:17, Psalms 44:11

what have: 2 Samuel 24:1

let thine: Genesis 44:33, Exodus 32:32, Exodus 32:33, John 10:11, John 10:12, Romans 9:3, 1 John 3:16

on my father's: Exodus 20:5, 2 Samuel 12:10, Psalms 51:14, Isaiah 39:7, Isaiah 39:8

that they should: Joshua 22:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:24 - a flaming Genesis 20:4 - wilt Joshua 5:13 - his sword Job 2:5 - put forth Ezekiel 11:13 - Then Jonah 1:12 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!"
Genesis 16:9
The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse." He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you. He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."
Genesis 21:1
God visited Sarah exactly as he said he would; God did to Sarah what he promised: Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time God had set. Abraham named him Isaac. When his son was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded.
Genesis 21:14
Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, "I can't watch my son die." As she sat, she broke into sobs.
Genesis 46:3
God said, "I am the God of your father. Don't be afraid of going down to Egypt. I'm going to make you a great nation there. I'll go with you down to Egypt; I'll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he'll close your eyes."
Exodus 3:7
God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Exodus 14:13
Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you're never going to see them again.
2 Kings 13:4
Then Jehoahaz prayed for a softening of God 's anger, and God listened. He realized how wretched Israel had become under the brutalities of the king of Aram. So God provided a savior for Israel who brought them out from under Aram's oppression. The children of Israel were again able to live at peace in their own homes. But it didn't make any difference: They didn't change their lives, didn't turn away from the Jeroboam-sins that now characterized Israel, including the sex-and-religion shrines of Asherah still flourishing in Samaria.
Isaiah 22:1
A Message concerning the Valley of Vision: What's going on here anyway? All this partying and noisemaking, Shouting and cheering in the streets, the city noisy with celebrations! You have no brave soldiers to honor, no combat heroes to be proud of. Your leaders were all cowards, captured without even lifting a sword, A country of cowards captured escaping the battle.
Matthew 15:32
But Jesus wasn't finished with them. He called his disciples and said, "I hurt for these people. For three days now they've been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can't send them away without a meal—they'd probably collapse on the road."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

See Gill "1Ch 21:1".


 
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